UK (London), June 16, 2007
Reviewed by:
jacob_laiho, on june 21, 2007 3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Sound: The sound quality was pretty good and all the instruments were clearly distinguishable. Dave's voice was spot on, and his and Glenn's leads were pretty decent, and overall the sound was very good for such a huge band in such a small venue, like the Astoria. The bass was a little tinny, but that's really just down to mixing.
Dave used his new signature Deans and Glenn stuck with his customised Dean Cadillacs throughout also (Dean V style headstock, 24frets, and a Kahler trem). James used his Warwick bass throughout and Shawn played on his standard huge DDrum (i believe) endorsement kit. Absolutely no disappointments in sound. // 10

Perfomance: I very much enjoyed the show, but I'm a massive Megadeth fan. However, I pretty sure anyone Who was there would say that Dave had the audience in his hand for the night, and from the intro of Sleepwalker, the standing section was a seething, heaving, relentless pit of bodies. Those Who saw Megadeth at the download festival complained that they played too many new songs - this setlist had some new (classics) in there, but made way for the real oldies. They played:
01. Sleepwalker - This was their intro and worked well. The lights went down and even though the clean intro was pre-recorded played through a PA system the crowd exploded and then as the distorted guitars kicked in the lights came up and they were on stage and Dave was anchored at his mic, riffing. It was almost unreal to look around and see everyone saluting their fists to Dave and screaming 'No one is safe!'
02. Take No Prisoners - Sleepwalker led into this straight away without a break and the crowd loved it. A few small-ish pits broke out but they were limited in action through this song due to the sheer movement of the crowd during it.
03. Skin O' My Teeth - Great song again, and really passion fuelled throughout
04. Wake Up Dead - It was great to hear Megadeth's first single played Live, and this was a real kick up the backside for the old Megadeth fans Who went absolutely mental to it.
05. Set The World A Fire - I was never a fan of this song for some reason, and whilst it was played well, I would mind if they had dropped it from the set for a song like Reckoning Day or Trust.
06. Washington Is Next - Dave made his first real address of the crowd to introduce this song and he really performed to the crowd. This is one of the better songs on the new album and it seems as if others agreed by their reaction with Dave and Glenn trading solos and breaking to feedback.
07. Hangar 18 - Possibly my all-time favourite Megadeth song and the crowd went mental! It was played incredibly cleanly and Glenn pulled off Friedman's leads well. The crowd intensity was still high but had lapsed slightly from the zenith of Sleepwalker and Take No Prisoners but this really got the crowd moving again.
08. My Darkest Hour - Brought the tempo down a bit and this wasn't a bad thing as the crowd had a real sing along to this song.
09. Kick The Chair - Dave kicked the tempo up here again and we all thanked HIM for it. A pretty large pit broke out where I was and crowdsurfing really started to pick up.
10. Gears of War - Not really my favourite song and previous to it beginning my friend and I used it as an opportunity to get some water from the bar. The crowd wasn't particularly ecstatic to hear this some we were able to re-infiltrate quite easily.
11. She Wolf - A bit of a lowlight for me but Dave won't drop it from the set and Who's gonna argue with HIM?
12. Tornado of Souls - This song was recognised immediately and crowdsurfing once again kicked off - a lot of people ended up on the deck because of it.
13. Mechanix - Of course a classic Megadeth song and many will know it as the original demo for Metallica's Four Horsemen, before Dave's departure. Despite it's age it still packs a swift punch.
14. Peace Sells - Received warmly to say the least as soon as James began to play the bass riff, and the audience loyally sang every word of the song back at Dave. The tempo change in the song worked well as it was clear the evening was reaching a climax.
The guys departed the stage from here and waited to an Encore - Which they definately received!
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15. Symphony Of Destruction - Almost the Megadeth 'anthem', the crowd went wild to it. The pit gave way to a field of unifed headbanging and pumping raised fists.
16. Holy Wars - The ender. We all knew this had to come, but lord, what a finisher! It seemed as if everyone had been keeping back a third (or forth) wind for this song and it was a display of energy only comparable to the very beginning of the show. Constant crowdsurfing and circle pits were the main attraction of this song and Megadeth left London on a high with this song. // 9

Overall Impression: The gig took place at the London Astoria in London, England on Saturday 16th June 2007. The opening act was a band called Priestess Who I had not heard of before, and they put on an alright show, but the crowd didn't really warm to them and neither did I to be honest, which led me to shout out the typical bored audience member response - "DO FREEBIRD!". Megadeth however, were excellent and they were the reason I went so this was a completely redeemed feature.
The tickets were 20 each before booking fee and was worth every single copper penny of it.
I suppose the unforgettable moments of the gig were the pre-gig build up - Waiting outside the venue just off Charing Cross Road and having the 'normal' people passing us, throwing disgusted looks, only to receive terrifying (to them) screams of threat from the Megadeth army, all suitably dressed in black; and secondly following the sudden surge of crowd activity at the beginning, being hurled into the back of a lad from Bolton and being able to taste the lager on HIM. Not exactly enjoyable, but an amusing quirk to the show nonetheless. Finally the end of the show, using a man as a leg up to (successfully) catch Dave Mustaine's yellow guitar pick as used in Symphony of Destruction and then Holy Wars. I went home in a great mood because of this!
To end, YES, I would definately go to another show, given the chance, and YES, this show was brilliant regardless of a few setlist hiccups. Well worth it! // 10

it was amamzing show, best gig iv ever been too. Also dave was an amazing frontman: he was repeatedly thanking us for being there and for supporting them and for having a good time, He really was honoured to be there, i wish all front men were like that

hey - thanks for the kind words, this is my first contribution to the site- i felt pretty much compelled after the show. I'd like it to end up on a dvd but I don't think it will though. On the 'Set the World AFire' I don't really dislike the song, moreso that I liked the other setlist songs more and wanted to hear a few different songs too.

I would mind if they had dropped it from the set for a song like Reckoning Day or Trust

How could they not play those two?? That's horrible.

Wake Up Dead - It was great to hear Megadeth's first single played Live

To the best of my knowledge Peace Sells was the first single...not 100% certain on that but fairly sure.
Anyway sounds like a great night. I saw them at Gigantour 2006 down under and it was incredible. Thanks for the review. But I can't believe that you - or those fellow concert-goers didn't like Gears of War.
(BTW didn't Dave say on the Arsenal of Megadeth DVD that playing in London was "so bad" because the fans are spoilt there, compared with, say, Argentina?)

this is almost the same at the megadeth concert i went to last year ...they didnt play some of there newer shit jsut only "washington is next" which was great
and they always finish the best for last HOLY WARS when the whole crowd heard that was the last song being played everybody turned into maniacs its was the most thrialling concert ive ever been to and i hope to see them again and enjoy myself before i die in the mosh pit
i kept this megadeth wristband that ive had ever since the concert which was Wed,4,oct,2006 i havent washed the band ever since only on the anniversary of the concert so only once a year ill was it

not_dead_enough wrote:
Wake Up Dead - It was great to hear Megadeth's first single played Live
To the best of my knowledge Peace Sells was the first single...not 100% certain on that but fairly sure.

Yes, actually I think you're right - I was reading through a videography at the time I wrote this review and got a bit confused in my writing (i believe wake up dead was the first music video but once more I can't be sure) but I had already sent off the review by the time I realised I had probably made a mistake.
On the Argentina thing - yeah I'm pretty certain he did and if you've seen 'That One Night' then you can see he was right, but compared to the states we don't get many shows.
Finally (on Gigantour) I bet it was! I really wanted Gigantour to come to England (for a chance to see Opeth and Arch Enemy) but unfortunately it didn't, but at least I've finally seen Megadeth.

jacob_laiho wrote:
Finally (on Gigantour) I bet it was! I really wanted Gigantour to come to England (for a chance to see Opeth and Arch Enemy) but unfortunately it didn't, but at least I've finally seen Megadeth.

Well our Gigantour was different, we had Caliban, Arch Enemy, Soulfly and Megadeth. Other 3 were decent but it was Megadeth I was there to see. If England gets a Gigantour there's a good chance yours will be different too coz it seems to be different in each country.